Storge
by der kapitan
Summary: He's so wrapped up in trying to quiet his own heartbeat that he doesn't catch her subtle glance in his direction. Kira/Hinamori, for Boyudo


Author's Note:

This is for **Boyudo**, who requested a Kira x Hinamori one-shot for being the 1000th reviewer for my drabble set, _Kaleidoscope_. This is actually one of my favorite Bleach pairings, so I was super excited to get the request, even if I haven't watched/read Bleach in years. XD That being said, I have a very general idea of what actually happened at the end of the anime (and is the manga still ongoing?), so this is just a very general plot/setting. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much!

* * *

**Storge  
**_"fondness through familiarity,  
__between people who have found themselves together  
__by chance"  
_a Bleach (© Kubo Tite) one-shot

* * *

He says he loves her like a sister. Renji calls him an idiot. Rangiku shakes her head at him. Shuuhei rolls his eyes and tells him it's unwise to delude himself. He insists anyway because it's true (they've known each other for so long, went to the academy together, were classmates, became vice captains together) and obviously they have no idea what they're talking about. He says it again and again: yes, he loves her, but in a purely platonic way.

**(**Hinamori walks by, smiles and waves. His heart leaps and he almost forgets to wave until Renji nudges him painfully in the ribs.**)**

"You don't understand," he says calmly when they continue to harass him. "A-and you're over analyzing. Hinamori-kun and I are friends. I… we're as close as you and I are." He turns his visible eye to Renji, who blinks back incredulously. "We've known each other for the same amount of time."

"Yeah, but he doesn't look at me the same way he looks at her," Renji grumbles to Rangiku. She giggles behind her hand as Kira glares at Renji.

**(**They run into each other at the market — literally. She laughs and helps him pick up his things, but he drops everything again when her hands brush against his.**)**

Renji's no idiot, and he's sure you'd have to pretty stupid to not recognize Kira's feelings for Hinamori. Kira doesn't look at Hinamori the way Hitsugaya looks at her. (Though this has been starting to change as of late.) He doesn't look at Hinamori the way Byakuya looks at Rukia. (Now that he actually _looks_ at Rukia, rather than avoiding her.) Kira doesn't look at Hinamori the way Renji has seen any brother look at his sister.

When he catches Kira stealing a glance in her direction, he wonders if that's what he looks like when he's looking at the younger Kuchiki. (Lovestruck and stupid.)

**(**She catches him staring one time, asks if there's anything on her face. They're both red; she's trying to wipe the nonexistent smudge off and he's just embarrassed he got caught.**)**

Rangiku warns him that Hitsugaya-taichou is one hell of a protective big brother, that he'll probably try to neuter Kira if he learns about his ulterior motives. Kira grumbles about how there are no ulterior motives. Rangiku calls him a sly dog, promises that she'll set something up and keep an eye out for the white-haired captain, and wanders off. He's never been so afraid for his life.

**(**He's caught smiling long after Hinamori waves to him on her way to the 5th Division compound. He doesn't say anything when Rangiku calls him out on it.**)**

Shuuhei's crush on Rangiku is far from discrete, but he doesn't think it's anywhere near as crushing as Kira's on Hinamori. The fact that he fights against it so strongly makes it that much more obvious. Shuuhei thinks that it's almost cute, if it weren't so annoying.

**(**When she sits next to him at the meeting, he hopes she can't hear the pounding in chest. It's deafening to him, consuming him and filling him until it's all he can hear. He's so wrapped up in trying to quiet his own heartbeat that he doesn't catch her subtle glance in his direction.**)**

Kira Izuru is a fool, they decide. A selfless, bumbling, kind-hearted fool who can't acknowledge romance when it smacks him in the face. They decide to take things into their own hands and reason that he'll thank them in the long run.

**(**Maybe it's the alcohol talking, but Hinamori looks especially beautiful tonight. She smiles at him and he wants to kiss her more than he's ever wanted to do anything before.**)**

Getting Kira drunk isn't a particularly hard thing to do. Shuuhei and Renji disguise it as another one of their usual night's out, only it's just the guys this time. They drag him over to their favorite bar and throw sake in his face until he's swaying and threatening people with kisses. Rangiku comes in with Hinamori, with the latter dressed to impress, even if she doesn't belong in a sleazy bar. Kira zones in on her the moment she walks in, and this time she's the one stuttering and blushing. In the back of his fuzzy mind, Kira thinks he doesn't mind this switch.

**(**His fingers steadily brush against hers. His face flushes, but it's probably the sake. He blames the drum in his ears and chest on the alcohol as well.**)**

Rangiku suggests they leave. Shuuhei and Renji try to protest, but she ushers them out. Even if the bar is full, she can tell that it's just them: just Kira and Hinamori.

**(**Her fingers seek his out. Her eyes catch his. Her smile draws out one of his own. She says she's nervous; he doesn't believe her.**)**

To everyone else, they look like the awkward teenage couple on their first date, save for the fact that they're grown individuals. Kira's too red and has had too much alcohol, and Hinamori is fumbling all over the place. Kira can barely formulate words, and even if he could Hinamori is too wrapped in her own nervousness to hear. It seems like a mess, like a failure waiting to happen.

**(**He tells her she's beautiful. She shakes her head. He tells her she's the nicest girl he's ever met. She denies it. He tells her he can't stop thinking about her. She pauses.**)**

With the way he's swaying, there's ample doubt that Kira will be conscious for much longer.

**(**She tells him she thinks he's wonderful.**)**

Sure enough, he passes out before he can even kiss her. This is probably the most unromantic situation she's ever been in, and Hinamori has spent ninety-nine percent of her life single. Everyone around her is either laughing at her or is too busy getting drunk to notice. Whatever amusement there is dies down, and once again it's just her and Kira in the corner of the bar.

**(**His head nestles comfortably on her shoulder, like it's meant to be there. His fingers tighten around hers, even if he's not conscious. She smiles and hopes he can't hear the pounding of her heart.**)**


End file.
